Other MMA Organizations News - Page 85

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"If you're truly a fan of mixed martial arts, you can't be gender biased," Invicta Fighting Championship president Shannon Knapp said in a recent telephone interview. "If MMA is about fighters competing in actual weight divisions and having competitive fights, that's what we have. If you don't like that, you're not a true fan of the sport. You can't be gender biased and be a true fan."
"(The UFC is) only going with one division. We've got an entire roster of fighters in five weight classes. Even with the one division where we overlap, I mean, look at it like this: look where Liz was in her career a year ago. She lost to Coenen and Kaufman back-to-back. Then she came here, she looked good in winning her fights, and she started to assert herself and market herself. I'm not going to take the credit for it because it's all on Liz, but she had the opportunity here and she took it. That's the sort of thing we can still help with."

Don't know if any of the PG fam is catching Invicta tomorrow night but I sure as hell am! Even if your busy tomorrow you might as well watch the weigh ins live in 10 minutes!! I dont know what it is.. but I seem to enjoy Invicta weigh ins more then any other organization.....

The tradition of huge shows in Japan on New Year’s Eve goes back many years, but with the mixed martial arts and fight scene in general in the country failing over the last several months, many wondered if 2012 would be the first year no major show would close out 2013.
Thanks to Glory World Series and a partnership with DREAM, the New Year’s Eve show was saved, and later tonight a double card featuring several MMA bouts as well as a 16-man heavyweight kickboxing tournament will cap off 2013 in Japan.

A previously reported headliner for Invicta FC 4 now is official between Carla Esparza and Bec Hyatt. Promotion officials finalized the fight on Sunday as the main event of the show, which takes place Jan. 5.

The DREAM - GLORY New Year's Eve event will be aired on CBS Sports. Former Strikeforce champ, Marloes Coenen has also been booked for the stacked card.
More news from that New Year's Eve mega card as that the merged DREAM 18 - GLORY 4 event now has a US TV deal. Past DREAM events have been shown on HDNet, or AXS a it is now called, but for this New Year's special, they will be aired on a network with much more reach.

TOKYO -- After 12 years and nearly 40 fights, Japanese fan-favorite Kazuo Misaki said farewell to the ring Saturday in front of a packed Korakuen Hall at Deep “Haleo Impact.”
In his final appearance, Misaki took on teammate and close friend Akihiro Gono in an exhibition kickboxing match. The bout began with shin-guards, but Misaki removed his before the second round and directed Gono to do the same. The two friends brawled for two rounds and embraced one another in tears after the final bell.
“I fought 40 fights over 12 years. What I learned from all of that was two important things: the terms ‘thank you’ and ‘challenge,’” Misaki told the crowd before giving thanks to his teammates, family and fans, bowing out with tear-filled eyes.
Misaki’s career saw him win the 2006 Pride Welterweight Grand Prix and includes notable wins over Dan Henderson, Denis Kang and most recently, Paul Daley.

The XFC promotion will be coming back to Charlotte, NC, for XFC 22: “Crossing the Line”on February 22nd and has announced the main event plus four more fights.
XFC tryout winner Jason Hicks will take on Scott Holtzman in a lightweight scrap with the winner taking on the newly crowned XFC lightweight champion Nick Newell.
Hicks (5-0) was victorious at XFC 19 which also took place in Charlotte as he won via second round submission over previously undefeated Shane Crenshaw. Hicks has only gone to a judges decision once in his career and will be taken on another undefeated fighter in Scott Holtzman.
Holtzman (3-0) was victorious in his last outing at XFC 20, taking out Chris Coggins via TKO in the first round. Holtzman has won three consecutive fights, finishing all three opponents either via TKO or submission.

ONE FC will crown its featherweight champion when it returns to action in February.
ONE FC CEO Victor Cui on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the promotion has booked a long-awaited matchup between Eric Kelly (9-0) and Honorio Banario (7-1) for "ONE FC 7: Return of Warriors." ONE FC also on Wednesday made the fight official.
ONE FC 7 takes place Feb. 2 at Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. the Kelly-Banario fight will serve as the main event.

Evangelista Santos (18-15) and Pete Spratt (25-21) will meet each other in the main event of the first Legacy FC show of the 2013.
Santos, a former PRIDE and Strikeforce fighter, will make be making his return after being away from action for the last 18 months. Spratt looks to find continued success in Legacy FC after securing a 25 second KO last summer.
Other fights on the card include: Jared Rosholt (4-1) vs. Richard Odoms (7-0), Nick Gonzalez (18-10) vs. Kevin Aguilar (4-1), Billy Buch (3-1) vs. Patrick Ybarra (2-0) and Johnny Ray Rodriguez (2-1) vs. Johnny Rodriguez (2-1).
Legacy FC 17 takes place from the Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio, TX. The show occurs February 1 with the main card airing on AXS TV.

Cage Warriors' New Year's Eve event has added a second title fight to the top of the bill.
Chris Fields (10-4) will put his middleweight title on the line at Cage Warriors 51 against Jesse Taylor (23-9). Cage Warriors officials recently announced the fight booking for the main card.
Cage Warriors 51 takes place Dec. 31 at The Helix in the Irish capital of Dublin. The event's main card streams live on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following Facebook prelims.
The card is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Cage Warriors featherweight champion Conor McGregor (11-2) Ivan Buchinger (21-3), with McGregor looking to become the first Cage Warriors fighter to simultaneously hold two titles.

Hiroyuki Takaya has a date for New Year’s Eve, as the Dream featherweight champion will take part in a non-title bout against Georgi Karakhanyan at Dream 18.
The matchup was one of three made official Tuesday for the Dec. 31 card at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Also announced was a welterweight tilt featuring Pride veterans Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Phil Baroni, as well as a lightweight bout between former Sengoku champ Satoru Kitaoka and American import Will Brooks.

Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, will be airing three live events on December 31, beginning with a live presentation of DREAM.18 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan at 2 a.m. ET.
Approximately one hour after the culmination of DREAM.18, the GLORY 4 Tokyo Heavyweight Grand Slam will emanate from the same venue, beginning at approximately 6 a.m. ET.
The live action continues later in the day at 4 p.m. ET, as a live broadcast of Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 51 emanates from The Helix in Dublin, Northern Ireland.

After 11 years of promoting mixed martial arts, the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino is likely out of the fight business.
Sherdog.com confirmed the information with a source close to the situation, who verified that tribal council members have voted to discontinue Tachi Palace Fights during the council’s annual meeting to discuss the casino’s entertainment options in the coming year. As a result, TPF 16, which was scheduled to go down Feb. 21, will not take place. However, Sherdog’s source also stated that if the decision is disputed by the people of the tribe, the population’s opinion could sway the council to change its decision. Nevertheless, even if the tribe votes to challenge the council’s ruling, is unlikely the development would affect the cancellation of TPF 16, as the aforementioned process is not expected to come to a head until February or March, according to Sherdog’s source.

Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos has a date and dance partner for his Legacy Fighting Championship debut.
The Strikeforce, Sengoku and Pride Fighting Championships veteran will square off with former UFC talent Pete Spratt at LFC 17 on Feb. 1 in San Antonio, promotion officials recently revealed to Sherdog.com. The card also includes a heavyweight clash between unbeaten Richard Odoms and former NCAA All-American wrestler Jared Rosholt, as well a lightweight showdown pitting 29-fight veteran Nick Gonzalez against onetime Bellator competitor Kevin Aguilar.

While 40-fight vet Xavier Foupa-Pokam (23-18) entered Saturday's BAMMA 11 headliner with just two wins in his previous 11 appearances, he combined with Welsh prospect Jack Marshman (11-2) to put on the evening's "Fight of the Night."
Foupa-Pokam survived a few near finishes to outwrestle Marshman and score a split-decision result.
The contest served as the main event of BAMMA 11, which took place at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, and aired in the U.S. on AXS TV.

Cage Warriors featherweight champion Conor McGregor (11-2) will have to wait a while longer to meet rival Jim Alers (9-1).
The fighters were set to headline the year-end Cage Warriors 51 event, but Alers was forced off the card with a hand injury.
Stepping into his place and the lightweight title fight is fast-rising Slovakian fighter Ivan Buchinger (21-3), officials today announced.
Cage Warriors 51 takes place Dec. 31 at The Helix in the Irish capital of Dublin. The event's main card streams live on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following Facebook prelims.

ONE Fighting Championship, Singapore's burgeoning MMA organization, and kickboxing supergiant Glory Sports International have inked an exclusive partnership that will allow Glory entry into the ONE FC Network, a fighter sharing program encompassing the most prominent gyms and organizations in Asia.
Fighters in both Glory and ONE FC will now be able to fight in either promotion, as well as the laundry of existing partners which includes Japan's DREAM, Thailand's DARE, Philippines' URCC, Korea's Road FC and Australia's CFC...

The RFA 5: Downing vs. Rinaldi full card is set for Kearney, Nebraska, on November 30th at the Viaero Event Center.
The main card will air LIVE on AXStv beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Jared “Demon Eyes” Downing will take on Jordan “All Day” Rinaldi in the main event to crown the RFA featherweight champion.
The co-main event will be welterweight fight between MMA veterans James Krause and Joe Jordan.